Free Republic

BEDFORD — The district attorney in Bedford County has brought dozens of charges against a man for firing a 12-gauge shotgun at civil rights marchers last August, striking one in the face and endangering 19 others. The announcement from Lesley Childers-Potts came just days after Spotlight PA and The Tribune-Democrat learned the prosecutor had been given the results of a State Police investigation into the shooting in early March — and just one day after the news organizations asked why she hadn’t acted on it. Terry Myers, 51 of Schellsburg, was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, a...

BEDFORD Co., Va. (WSET) -- A few days after resigning as Liberty University's president, Jerry Falwell Jr. was injured in a fall after drinking, according to a 911 call obtained by WSET. According to the 911 call, on Sunday, Aug. 30, Falwell was reportedly injured and his wife, Becki Falwell, called 911 to report he had fallen down the stairs and was bleeding. "It was night time and he fell from the stairs and there's a lot of blood right now," Becki told the Bedford County dispatcher. According to the call, Becki said that Falwell had been drinking but wouldn't...

Three MS-13 gang members have been charged with second degree murder of a missing teenager. The body of 17-year-old Raymond Wood was found lying in the middle of Roaring Run Road by a motorist in Bedford County, Virginia, on Monday. Authorities detained and charged Victor A. Rodas, 19, Jose Corea-Ventura, 21, and Lasandro A. Vasquez, 24, of Maryland, with second-degree murder of Wood. Police said all three men are known MS-13 gang members and are illegal aliens. Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4369806/Three-MS-13-gang-members-charged-murder-VA-teen.html#ixzz4cxEJVd25 Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

<p>According to a former WDBJ employee, Vester L. Flanagan — the man authorities say they’re seeking in connection with Wednesday’s fatal shooting of two journliasts — worked at WDBJ as a reporter about a year using the on-air name Bryce Williams.</p>

A news crew for a CBS affiliate in Virginia was gunned down during a live report near the Bedford County-Franklin County line in Moneta early Wednesday morning, law enforcement officials said. Police and emergency services were on the scene, which remains active. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms is also involved in the investigation. WDBJ7 reporter Allison Parker, 24, and cameraman Adam Ward, 27, were killed by an unidentified assailant who approached the pair as they were filming an interview at the Bridgewater Plaza and fired in their direction as many as eight times. Footage of the shooting aired...

A gunman killed a reporter and videographer for a CBS affiliate in Virginia in a shooting that was broadcast live Wednesday morning. Alison Parker and Adam Ward, a reporter and cameraman for CBS Roanoke affiliate WDBJ-TV, died in the shooting, Parker's mother confirmed to CBS News. WDBJ-TV reports that deputies from Franklin County and Bedford County were on the scene. The shooting happened at Bridgewater Plaza in Moneta, Virginia.

Two teenagers have been charged in the Thursday killing of a Roaring Spring, Pa., woman, according to Pennsylvania state police in Bedford County. One of the teenagers is charged with homicide and other related offenses while the other is charged with conspiracy to commit homicide and other related offenses in the death of Stephanie Waters, 21. Police did not identify the 16-year-old boy from Woodbury, Pa., and the 15-year-old boy from Martinsburg, Pa., who were arrested as suspects. Ms. Waters was reported missing Thursday to the Roaring Spring Borough Police Department, and posts were made on social media describing her...

When Tim Morris got his mail last week he found a pretty big surprise, a document asking his dog Mozart to register to vote. Not only is Mozart a dog but he's been dead for two years. "I opened it up and looked at it and I just laughed," Morris said. "I thought it was a joke at first and it turns out it's real." The form is addressed to Mo, the family's nickname for the dog. What amazed Morris is that if Mozart was human he would have been eligible to vote for the first time in 2012. "He...

BEDFORD COUNTY, VA -- When Tim Morris got his mail last week he found a pretty big surprise, a document asking his dog Mozart to register to vote. Not only is Mozart a dog but he's been dead for two years. "I opened it up and looked at it and I just laughed," Morris said. "I thought it was a joke at first and it turns out it's real." The form is addressed to Mo, the family's nickname for the dog. What amazed Morris is that if Mozart was human he would have been eligible to vote for the first...

NASHVILLE (AP) -- Federal immigration officials here say they simply do not have enough agents to process every person assumed to be in the country illegally. At the request of Gov. Phil Bredesen, representatives of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, met Friday with state and local law enforcement officials to improve communication among all agencies in handling illegal immigration. "Our biggest issue is manpower," said Katherine Molyneux, who represented ICE. "It would be impossible to handle every single (illegal immigrant)." Bredesen said he wants to determine what kinds of criminal offenses need to take priority with immigration officials...

One of the most noticed problems among Bedford County's wave of illegal and legal Hispanics -- but one not talked about enough by officials -- is obvious alcoholism. Note these excerpts from last weekend's police reports involving Hispanics. See Brian Mosely's column elsewhere on this page for one example of where some of these problems may be originating. Here's where many of those at the Wartrace Pike soccer fields may end up after their day of partying. Two reports of people passing out: "A Hispanic male was lying on his back ... unconscious ... on the front porch of (a...

Terry Looper Corporal punishment hasn't been used at Cascade High School for more than a decade, according to the principal. Meanwhile, paddling "has its place" at Shelbyville Central High School, the principal said this week, but he doesn't do it and the only instances of paddling there have been in the vocational part of the school. Cascade Principal Terry Looper and Central Principal Don Embry spoke about corporal punishment on Wednesday and Thursday on a condition that it be made clear: They're not commenting on what's alleged at Community High School. "Child abuse" is what a Smyrna doctor wrote as...

Bedford County has seen a 61.9 percent jump in its Hispanic population since 2000, U.S. Census Bureau statistics show. From 2000 to 2004, the county has gained 1,739 Hispanics for a total of 4,550 last year. Bedford County had the third largest increase of Hispanics in Middle Tennessee. Robertson County showed the highest percentage growth in Hispanic population in Middle Tennessee with a 95.3 percent increase, followed by Rutherford and Wilson counties with 78.1 percent and 70.1 percent respectively. According to census numbers, the state's 2004 population is reported as 78.1 percent white, 17.2 percent black, 2.8 percent Hispanic and...

An $80 million federal grant program to distribute gun locks free for the protection of children appears to have pivoted off course since they're being used by farmers to keep their gates locked. "If you look from the road at farmers' gates, you can see them," Bedford County Sheriff's Detective Sgt. Chris Brown said today when asked about comments from Wartrace Town Hall Wednesday. Wartrace Town Clerk Kim Curbow said Project ChildSafe's cable-style gun locks "look like a lock you would use on a bicycle." She and Wartrace Police Chief Ben Burris agreed the locks would also work as a...

Bedford County officials are waiting to see whether the federal government will revoke immunity for a foreign diplomat they say showed up in the Forest area yesterday expecting a tryst with a 13-year-old girl. Dr. Salem Al-Mazrooei, a diplomat from United Arab Emirates, has not been charged with any crimes, but Bedford County Sheriff Mike Brown said if Al-Mazrooei's immunity is revoked, he will be charged with four felony counts of electronic solicitation of a minor. Operation Blue Ridge Thunder, a group of Bedford County investigators who focus on Internet crimes against children, has been working this case for about...

According to figures released by the U.S. Census Bureau, Bedford County has the highest percentage of Latino residents than anywhere else in Tennessee. Hispanics make up 10 percent of the county’s population, while African-Americans total 8.2 percent, according to the figures released this week. White residents make up 89.9 percent of Bedford County’s population. Since Hispanic is not considered a racial category and some people identify themselves as both Latino and another race, the figures do not total 100 percent. Bedford County also ranked fifth in counties experiencing population growth in Tennessee, with 40,253 people living in the county in...

Homes of several Atlanta-area residents were unexpectedly mortgaged by a Bedford County man being sought by Georgia authorities, investigators revealed today. David Glenn Helton, 56, falsely claiming power of attorney, obtained mortgages on homes and land under at least 12 different names without the awareness of the property owners, said Detective Sgt. Sam Bragg of the Bedford County Sheriff's Department. Helton is at large and was last known to be in the Knoxville area over the weekend, authorities said. The owners were unaware their properties had been mortgaged until foreclosure notices were received after Helton failed to make payments, said...

Months before criticism of the Bedford County Medical Center Emergency Department hit the newspaper, hospital administration, E-R head nurse Mary Jim Thompson, other nurses and physicians began developing a plan to help alleviate the problem. Thompson referred to the steady growth in emergency services demand, growing from 11,211 persons triaged in 2002 to 11,780 last year. She expressed concern with the amount of time from a patient first being seen to their release, more than an hour's time, and the high percentage of patients who left without being seen. Their challenge: do so with little capital outlay or adding to...

A juvenile's jealousy erupted into gunfire and charges being filed against three young men after they left Duck River Speedway Saturday night. Justin Wayne Leverette, 18, of Unionville and two juveniles allegedly attempted to stop a car driven by two young men. When the second car attempted to flee the pursuers fired at them, according to a report filed by the Bedford County Sheriff's Department. Leverette and the juveniles allegedly blocked their path at Halls Mill Store and the three left their vehicle to argue with and threaten the pair. Sgt. George Marsh reported that one juvenile stated, "Mr. Leverette...

<p>Plans are under way to build an all-male private military college in Bedford County with strong Confederate ties. The Southern Military Institute, whose organizers received national attention when they publicly called for such a school to be built in the South in 1997, has received a zoning exemption to build its school on a 446-acre site just west of Shelbyville, Bedford County Planning Director Sam Riddle said ''All the necessary approvals at the county level were granted,'' Riddle said.</p>